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The Necklace	By : belladonnacullen Category: Twilight Series > Het > Alice/Jasper Views: 4635 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
APOV
I let go of it all and lost myself in Jasper’s arms. I had to. The intensity of the emotions he sent surging through the air and coursing through my body, was overwhelming to say the least. It had been so long, too long, since my body had become a feeling, a vibration set to pleasure, a song, fire and ice all rolled into one.

I couldn’t make out legs and arms and lips; my entire body simply hummed with pure, sated desire. The blood I’d just drunk added to the pleasure of it all, heightening my senses and soothing my nerves.

For every blade of dry desert grass that tickled and scratched, Jasper had a matching caress, or a kiss, or a lick. He was all over me and inside of me all at once. I tore at his clothing so there would be nothing in the way of our emotions as they bled into each other’s pores. Just the two of us, skin against skin, completing one another, the way it was supposed to be.

And that was all with my eyes closed. When I opened my eyes, I saw my one and only love, in the flesh, reaffirming everything I’d known from the first time I opened my vampire eyes. This man was why I was here, and life was perfect because he was in it. And as I gazed at his face, his eyes, his untamed golden hair, his strong shoulders, and long muscular arms, I felt the venom stir in my mouth. My teeth tingled, and I ran them gently along Jasper’s collarbone, sending a thrill through my body and eliciting a rumble from Jasper’s chest.

I had to close my eyes again, consumed by the feel of Jasper’s body vibrating against my own. I was lost in sensation, marveling at the way he could fill me, at the way he could touch me, and how I would simultaneously shake with pleasure. And too soon, I could feel his orgasm coming on in the air, and in every part of my body, as I pulsed with blissful satisfaction.

Afterwards, Jasper settled himself on top of me, the full weight of his body against mine. He wound his arms around me, one hand cradled the back of my head, and he placed the other over my bottom, and I was trapped in his haze of love and satisfaction and sharp, never-ending need. Lost. Oblivious. Happy.

And then Jasper’s eyes were staring into my own, so bright and clear that I could see myself. The love we shared bounced back and forth in the small space between us, as he very slowly and deliberately slipped inside me again. We moved slowly this time, never taking our eyes off one another, enjoying every sensation, every emotion that this deliberate rhythm evoked.

And as we both moved closer to release, Jasper brought his lips to mine, so soft and gentle, so full of want and need and gratification, because everything we wanted we had, right there. I was lucky I didn’t need to breathe, because he took my breath away. I was nearly stunned into stillness, as my body vibrated and quivered and Jasper’s motions took on a staccato rhythm, before he twitched and jerked and collapsed, gasping on my chest.

I held him impossibly closer, clutching my arms around him, holding him to me, thanking him with my emotions, letting him know how much I appreciated him taking care of me. It was something that I seldom required, and had never needed like I had today.

“You’re welcome,” he whispered so soft and low, his lips brushing against my ear.

I dug my nails into his back in response, and he moved a little, half hard and still inside of me. “Be careful what you wish for, Alice,” he purred.

I still couldn’t speak, and chose to respond with my hips and my heart. Jasper growled and I giggled. There was my voice!

“I know exactly what I’m doing, baby,” I cooed, pressing my hips up against his again. My mind sprinted ahead into the future and I saw Jasper roll me on top of him, and I saw the way his eyes would darken as they raked over my naked body sparkling in the sunshine. I smiled as I saw the way the reflections from my breasts would bounce and shine in his eyes, how he’d wrap his hands around my waist pulling me closer, and then, oh god, he would bite me…

“Alice?” Jasper asked, and I was back in my body. Jasper was still on top of me, smiling, his eyes sparkling, without the help of my skin. “What’s got you so excited all over again? What am I going to do to you, baby?”

And again, I was lost in what we were about to do… I saw the swift movement of my hips, as I gave it to Jasper as good as he could give it to me: hard, quick, until his toes curled and his knees bent a little, and he swore and pulled me to him, my neck to his mouth, whispering something in my ear that took me over the edge at the same time his teeth nipped at the skin at my hairline.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I giggled, giving his ass a playful squeeze.

“I certainly would,” he growled, and pulled me on top of him, his darkening eyes raking over me, just like I knew they would...

And afterward, we’d lay on our sides, wrapped around one another, taking comfort in the feel of each other’s bodies, loosing track of time, but never losing the feelings that flowed easily around us… our own little emotional world. Until…

“Oh god!”

I’d gone still mid-thrust, poised above Jasper, his large hands grasping my hips, his mouth slightly open, lips glistening, my skin sparkling in his eyes.

After that period of lying and loving, there was nothing again. White nothingness. The future would go white. My powers would be gone.

“Alice?”

I swallowed and a small trickle of venom burned my throat as I tried to suppress my terror. Jasper’s hands gripped me harder.

“Alice! Talk to me!”

I wanted desperately to continue making love, to make it to that place where our bodies would be intertwined in sweet satisfaction. But the future, goddammit, the future had changed. I couldn’t say it out loud, though. I didn’t have the will to tell Jasper that it wasn’t over.

Maybe if we left right now, though. Maybe if we got away from whatever was going to cloud my vision, we could make this right. I cast my eyes around us, trying to locate our clothing, but it was hopeless. Scraps of cloth were strewn as far as my eyes could see.

“Our clothes,” I whined.

Jasper chuckled and pulled me closer. “Is that all? I know about our clothing. I figured we’d wait until nightfall. We’ll figure somethi --” He stopped mid-sentence, sensing my rapidly plummeting mood. “Alice, talk to me.”

“It’ll be gone again, Jasper. My vision. In just a couple minutes, I think.” I scrunched my eyes closed and balled my hands into fists. “I thought it was over.”

“It is, baby. Maybe it’s just a glitch. Maybe it will come and go for a while, or something.” Jasper’s love and concern beat out over his lust as he rubbed my thighs. I looked away, ashamed and uncertain. “Hey, baby, it’s okay. Just give yourself some time.”

“I don’t think that’s it, Jazz. It looked like it did when I was --”

But I didn’t finish, because suddenly, the emotions that had been supporting and comforting me were completely gone. The air was hot and dry and empty of any feeling. Worse than that, my vision was gone as well.

“Excuse me, Mary Alice.”

That little voice chilled me to the bone.

In a fraction of a second Jasper had me pressed to the ground, hidden in the long, dry grass. His eyes searched mine, and although I couldn’t feel his emotions, I knew he was suspicious and confused.

“I thought you said he was dead, Alice,” Jasper hissed.

“I was,” came the squeaky reply from the crest of a low hill just to the south of us. “I thought you might need a little help.”

*****

And in another split second Jasper was on top of the hill, naked and sparkling, with little Riodh held off the ground by his neck. The enormous desert sun was setting, and red rays glanced off Jasper’s skin and the faerie’s wings, scattering light in all directions, creating a blinding display. It brought to mind the story of the burning bush on the mountaintop, and I momentarily wondered whether a vampire or a faerie played a role back then.

“Goddammit!” Jasper growled. And when I looked back up, the faerie was gone. I hadn’t told Jasper about the trick of staring them in the eye just yet.

“Mary Alice, please.” Riodh appeared by my side. “I mean no harm. I just wanted to say good-bye, and bring you --”

But Jasper quickly closed the space between the faerie and myself, growling, and edging Riodh away from me. The faerie swallowed nervously as he shuffled backwards, his little pink eyes watering.

“Mary Alice, I died for you. Please!”

In an instant, I was standing at Jasper’s side. “Then would you like to explain to me how you’re back here, ruining everything again?”

“Aodhfionn,” he said in a hushed voice, casting his eyes to the ground.

“The faerie?” Jasper asked, taking a step forward. Riodh scurried backwards, and looked around wildly, perhaps for some sort of protection.

“Hey,” Jasper’s voice was softer, gentle almost. “Just tell me about Aod, okay, and I won’t hurt you.”

“I’m here because of Aodhfionn.”

“Did he send you here?” Jasper asked.

“Not exactly,” the little pink faerie stammered. “He gave me his soul.”

“What?” Jasper and I asked in unison.

“Aodhfionn asked Aine, as his last wish, for his soul to go to me when he died.”

“Faeries can do that?” Jasper asked in disbelief.

“Sometimes, if you know you’re going to die. Our souls are trapped here, you know. They have to go somewhere, or to someone.”

“He didn’t make it, then?” Jasper asked, biting his bottom lip. “I’d hoped…” But his voice trailed off. I grabbed his hand and squeezed, touched that he’d become so close to the faerie he’d once hated.

“No.”

“Oh.” Jasper’s body stiffened, and then he crumbled into a seated position in the grass. I sat next to him, wrapping my arm around his waist, pulling him close.

“How? Who killed him?” Jasper asked, his eyes on the dusty desert grass at his feet.

“I don’t know.”

Relative silence fell over our little gathering. The only sounds were the thrumming of the faerie’s heart, and the whisper of the wind in the grass.

“Why are you here, Riodh?” I asked. “I thought we were done with the fae. You got what you wanted.”

“Isn’t it obvious, Mary Alice? I thought you might need these,” Riodh replied, pulling a stack of silken cloths from a bag he had slung over his shoulder.

Jasper glanced up, curious. “What the hell are those?”

“Garments, of course. You two are nude. You do realize that, don’t you?”

With mention of our state of undress, Jasper came back to life, quickly wrapping his arms around me, in an attempt to shield my body from the faerie’s vision.

“Oh please, Jasper,” I sighed, pushing against his embrace. But Jasper’s hold on me was as strong as ever, as his eyes studied the silky things Riodh had placed at his feet.

“You want me to wear that? I don’t think so!”

A tear trickled down Riodh’s cheek, and his eyes looked heavenward. He clenched and unclenched his little fists. Geez! I suppose Jasper had offended the little guy.

“Did you really die for me, Riodh?” I suddenly felt I needed to know, and if I asked, he had to tell the truth.

“Yes,” he gulped.

I softened towards the fellow, a little. “Thank you for that. But for everything else… I honestly never want to see you again. I hope you understand.”

“I can’t get on an airplane like this,” Jasper growled. While I’d been talking to Riodh, he’d unfolded the brightly colored clothing the faerie had brought for him. Jasper had a turquoise silk V-necked tunic in his hands, and pale lavender, silken leggings on the ground in front of him. They looked like they might just about clear his knees.

Just the thought of Jasper dressed like an overgrown faerie, standing in some foreign airport sent me into a spasming fit of laughter. It was all too much: the renewed loss of my vision, Aodhfionn’s death, Riodh’s resurrection, and Jasper dressed like a faerie. My body shook, and I collapsed to the ground, convulsing with laughter, loosing myself in sensation for the second time that day. It was easier this way.

“You won’t have to wear the clothing to an airport, warrior. I’ll take you back to Pollnagollum. You have a friend waiting there, with luggage. I’m guessing that it might contain your personal effects.”

And just like that, my mirth was replaced with rage.

“I’m not going anywhere with you! After what you tried to do to me, do you really think I’d trust you? You’d just try to take me back to the sidhe!”

“No, Mary Alice. After Aodhfionn’s sacrifice, I couldn’t do something like that.”

I took to my feet and pulled the faerie to standing, glaring at him. “Look into my eyes, Riodh!”

“Alice, would you put some clothing on, please?” Jasper hissed. I growled, slightly vexed that all Jasper seemed to care about was my nudity. But in a split second, Jasper was threading my arms through his shredded shirt. The way the breeze hit my skin, I’m sure it hardly hid anything.

“For god’s sake, Jasper. There are more important things to think about here!”

I turned back to the little faerie, cowering in front of me.

“Promise me that you won’t take me back to the sidhe. Promise that you’ll take Jasper and I straight back to Pollnagollum.”

“I promise, Mary Alice. To Pollnagollum, and not through the sidhe.”

“Be more specific. Promise that you will take both Jasper and I. Promise it, now, or so help me, I’ll kill you again!”

Riodh’s little chubby knees shook, and I couldn’t help but feeling the littlest bit sorry for him. But I pushed the feeling aside.

“Yes, I will take you and the warrior straight to Pollnagollum. I promise.”

“Thank you. Then we won’t need the clothing,” I informed Jasper, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Alice,” Jasper warned.

“Do you have a better idea, Jasper? Our other clothes and our passports are back with Maggie.”

“Perhaps Jasper should try the purple trousers, at least. Your friend might be alarmed if the warrior appears before her naked.”

Jasper ran into the field and back, pulling on his torn and soiled jeans. I’d popped all the buttons off his fly earlier as I’d hastily pulled them off, and as a result, they hung very, very low on Jasper’s hips. Jasper had to hold them in place with his hand for them to make any difference at all. But still, at least he looked sexy as hell, rather than like a fool.

“You swear, faerie. You’ll take us straight back to Pollnagollum?” he asked.

“I swear on Aodhfionn’s soul, warrior.”

“Fine, then.” Jasper hitched his jeans again. “I can’t believe I’m foolish enough to do this.”

“You’re not foolish, warrior. You have faith. That is an improvement over your nature when we first met. Now, please, grab my hand. Each of you.”

Jasper looked back and forth between Riodh and I. “Couldn’t Alice just get us there on her own, then?”

“She’s been too long from the sidhe, warrior. Her faerie powers are fading. There’s no telling where she might take the two of you. And as undressed as you are, that is not the smartest idea.

I sighed and grabbed the little faerie’s hand. Jasper’s shirt gaped open, and before I could hold it closed with my other hand, my mate growled in protest.

“Jasper, please. Let’s go,” I urged. Jasper shook his head, but gave in and grabbed Riodh’s hand.

“Thank goodness that’s settled. I hate to keep your friend waiting.”

And, with those words, we were plunged into darkness.

*****

“Merciful heavens!” Maggie’s lilting voice was the first thing I heard after the faerie-induced void.

I blinked three times, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dim, filtered light in the subterranean cave. The pearly pink stone walls glistened in the strange, greenish gloaming, and clouds of sulfur billowed from deep pools in the ground. And then I spotted Maggie, crouching defensively against the far wall, her fierce stance at odds with the look of embarrassment on her face. Right! I clutched at what remained of Jasper’s shirt, and spun around toward Jasper, hoping he was as decent as possible.

I believe Jasper was just as embarrassed as Maggie, standing a step behind me, hitching up his jeans with his hand. And behind Jasper, Riodh shivered, his little salmon colored wings fluttering nervously, the blond curls vibrating on his head. I was hoping he’d have zapped himself directly to the sidhe, but apparently not.

“Alice? Jasper?”

I straightened the shirt, checked to make sure nothing obvious was showing through the holes, and turned a warm smile on my friend. “Oh Maggie! It’s so good to see you! You have no idea!”

I watched conflicting emotions playing across Maggie’s face: relief, alarm, embarrassment, and hunger. Her face settled on a look of unmistakable, ravenous desire. She smelled the faerie.

“Maggie, that’s Riodh back there. He’s one of the fae, and I think he’s just leaving. He won’t hurt you. He promised that he’d be good.”

“And why can’ I tell whether what you’re sayin’ is true?”

“It’s because of the faerie. He has that effect on all of us. It’s a real pain in the butt, but after he’s gone, your powers will return. I promise.”

I took a step in Maggie’s direction, and my movement seemed to snap her out of her cautious mood. She straightened her legs, ran her fingers through her bouncy, red curls, and then shook her head before handing me our luggage.

“Lord, look at you two. Take these, an’ cover yourselves.”

“Sorry, Maggie. It wasn’t my idea to show up like this,” Jasper mumbled behind me.

“But technically, it was Jasper’s fault.”

“I didn’t hear you complaining, Alice,” Jasper quipped as we quickly and gratefully pulled on clean and intact clothing from the luggage, while Maggie studiously turned her face to the wall.

“Ahem,” the little faerie cleared his throat, drawing our attention his way. “Before I go, Mary Alice --”

“Mary Alice?” Maggie interrupted.

“Long story, Maggie.” It was one I wasn’t sure I’d ever tell another soul.

“I have something for you.” Riodh finished his thought as if he’d never been interrupted. “A gift from Donnchadh and I.”

“Not a chance, Riodh. I think I have everything I need,” I said as I finished buckling my belt, without a glance in his direction.

Maggie, however, bolted over to my side and grabbed my hand. “But Alice, you can’t refuse!”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t turn down a gift from the fae, Alice. I told you that before you left.”

“I’ve received enough from them to last several lifetimes, Maggie. Several vampire lifetimes.”

“She’ll take it, little faerie. She’ll take it gratefully,” Maggie said, taking a step closer to Riodh and holding out her hand. I watched as she did her best to suppress her thirst in his presence.

Riodh smiled and fluttered his wings, and stepped shyly forward, bowing his head a little. “Why thank you, Margaret. I knew I could count on your help. After all, I aim to help Mary Alice, I wouldn’t want the tables turned and Aine angered.”

“We certainly wouldn’t want that, now,” Maggie agreed, smiling a little too much, and edging closer to the little faerie, inhaling deeply, her eyes glittering hungrily. I grasped her elbow and attempted to hold her to my side. If turning down a gift was such a big deal, making a meal out of the little man might not be such a good idea either.

Maggie jumped at my touch, but smiled at me gratefully, taking a step backwards as her senses returned. “All this time and I’ve never actually seen one before,” she mouthed silently, her smile rueful. I grinned back at her in response before turning back toward Riodh in resignation.

“Fine, faerie. What is it? Is it going to hurt us? Be truthful.”

Riodh shook his head in mock disappointment. “By now, Mary Alice, I’d hope you knew me better. It won’t hurt you or the warrior; it can only help.”

Riodh pulled something from his back pocket. The little man took a few cautious steps forward, his eyes glowing as he eyed Maggie, a sweet smile on his lips. It rubbed me the wrong way that he looked so innocent, but I reminded myself that he had died for me. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as all that. Maybe.

“Here, Mary Alice,” he whispered as he unfurled his fingers, revealing something that glowed and sparkled in the gloomy light of the cavern. It cast rainbows into the waterfall, and sent rays of light glancing off the pearly pink stone walls. I moved cautiously forward to see a small, silver seven-pointed star in the palm of his hand. A glowing white stone was mounted in the center of the star, and its rays looked as if they were filled in with stained glass. The light from the stone in the center illuminated the colorful rays, sending arcs of light into the air.

“What is’t?” Maggie asked breathlessly.

Riodh picked up a thin silver chain that had been hidden under the pendant. “A necklace.”

“You know what she means, Riodh,” Jasper said impatiently.

“It's the faerie star. We don’t want Mary Alice to forget us, or what she means to the fae,” he said, his eyes flickering back and forth between the three of us. I was relieved he hadn’t come out and said I was part faerie. That was for me to announce, and I wasn’t so certain that I wanted anyone to know just yet. Or ever.

“You know that Donnchadh and I cannot see you, but it will always be our duty to keep you safe. If you need us, Mary Alice, just place this around your neck, and ask for us. It is as simple as that.”

“Umm, thanks.” I looked to Jasper for support and he grasped my hand reassuringly. “Definitely,” I added, without the intention of doing any such thing.

“Take it, Mary Alice. It is yours,” Riodh added, jangling the necklace in front of me.

“Right, of course.” I tentatively held out my hand, and the lights from the pendant danced across my skin, and I sparkled even in the dimly lit cavern. Riodh carefully slid the pendant into my open palm, and I involuntarily hissed as the smooth metal hit my skin.

“It’s warm.”

“Not really, Mary Alice. Although it might seem so to one of the… to you, perhaps. It’s the faerie power within it. Really, ask us to help if ever you need it. In Aodhfionn’s name, I would fight for you, to the best of my ability.”

I don’t know if it was the warm metal in my hand or the faerie’s words, but I suddenly felt very, humanly, ill.

“Are you okay, baby? Is that thing hurting you?” Jasper asked, wrapping his arm around me, and reaching for the necklace with his other hand. But I closed my fingers around the pendant before he could touch it. If it was hurting me somehow, Jasper didn’t have to be exposed to its effects as well. I couldn’t wait to get back to Forks to stow the necklace safely way in a safety deposit box in some distant vault. Never to be touched again.

“No, I’m fine,” I hedged. “I just thought this was finally over. But maybe it never will be. There will always be a part of all of this that I’ll have to take with me. Learn to deal with.”

“We’ll do it together. All right, love?” Jasper whispered in my ear. I’d never been so thankful for his complete acceptance and I let my body collapse into his. Even in the presence of the faerie, I could feel Jasper’s desire to protect me as he pulled me closer and nuzzled the tender spot behind my ear.

Riodh moved so that he was standing directly in front of me. When I looked down at him, we both seemed to shrink back from one another’s gaze. He wrung his hands and cleared his throat.

“And I wanted to say good-bye, Alice. No matter what you may have thought of my intentions, I really, really like you. And I’m so glad we got to meet. And I’m so happy for your clan-mate – that he found love. Especially after what he did for us by killing James.” Riodh’s eyes went violently red, and he showed his jagged little teeth. “I’ve wanted that vampire dead for years!”

And, in and instant, he was the picture of innocence.

“So, thanks, for everything,” he added.

Against my better judgment, I felt my feelings for the little faerie soften a bit. “Yeah, bye, little one. I liked you, too.” I wondered if he caught the emphasis I put on the past tense, but then decided that maybe I didn’t care.

“Nice to meet you too, warrior,” Riodh said, turning shyly to Jasper.

“Likewise, faerie. And uh, the next time you have to help someone, remember the way Aod did it. Because you’ve got his soul now.”

I turned and looked wonderingly at Jasper, but he studiously refused to meet my gaze. Huh.

The little faerie smiled. “I’m trying, warrior. I will do my best.” And then Riodh bobbed up and down a little, something between a bow and a curtsy, and turned on his heels, and walked into the waterfall.

I could immediately feel circumspection and apprehension filling the cavern. I felt Jasper’s arms twitch around me, and I knew he was picking up every detail of what I was feeling at this moment. A warm smile took over Maggie’s freckled face, and I supposed she could finally sense that everything we’d said had the ring of truth to it. But Maggie, Jasper and I stayed stone still and held our breaths, still cautious in the wake of the faerie’s presence. Only after Riodh’s candy-sweet smell faded from the dank air, did we relax and cautiously look at one another.

“Did it work?” Maggie was the first to break the verbal silence.

I quickly tried out my vision, and sure enough, I saw Jane spending lots of quality time in Volterra for the foreseeable future. “They won’t come for us before the end of the year,” I said with considerable relief.

“So, it worked, then! Edward and his wife are safe?”

“I think so. My vision isn’t back one hundred percent. They’re not coming for us, but I can’t see everything all the way until the end of the year. It all comes and goes in flashes.”

“What happened to you all? You look a little worse for the wear, if ya’ don’t mind me sayin’ so,” Maggie said, looking Jasper and I over from head to toe.

“Oh, Maggie, it’s a long story. I don’t know if I could even tell it right.” Of course, whether or not I could tell the story, I wasn’t ready to say a thing. Maggie looked at me doubtfully, and I got the feeling she knew I was hiding something.

“Is that sand stuck in yer ears, Jasper?”

“Probably. Or quicksand, maybe.”

“Quicksand!” Maggie glanced back and forth between Jasper and I, but I knew she’d keep her questions to herself. She was a good friend. “Whatever it is that’s happened, you could both probably use a good cleanin’, don’t ya’ think?”

“Oh my god, yes!” Jasper breathed, and I had to laugh. The man loved a good bath.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen someone so excited to bathe!” Maggie laughed.

“You probably haven’t seen anyone as dirty as Jasper, either, Maggie,” I joked.

“Perhaps not,” she giggled. And as she turned toward the long tunnel that led to the exit, I heard her laugh under her breath, “Or as naked.”

*****

Jasper and I helped Maggie boil large pots of water for the big, old-fashioned claw footed tub in their little wooden bathroom. There was no plumbing in the tiny room, and I watched Jasper’s eyes dance as he cast them about the space. I wondered if it’s what he remembered from when he was human, or perhaps it was just how washrooms were for most of his existence. Either way, he was happier in that little room than he had been since his bath back in Forks, weeks ago.

Maggie smiled sweetly, conspiratorially. Anyone could have felt Jasper’s elation, and Maggie had lived with two mated vampires for her entire vampire existence.

“I’ll be off paintin’ on the Burren. Will an hour suffice?” Maggie’s eyes glittered mischievously.

“Hardly,” Jasper rumbled, pulling me into his arms.

“Well, it’ll have to make do, Jasper. I aim ta’ get back and do some cleanin’ around here before Siobhan and Liam return from their hunt.”

“Thanks, Maggie. I’ll make sure Jasper’s dressed when you get back,” I smiled. “I’ve had enough of letting other people see my man half-naked for a while.”

Maggie giggled and shut the door behind her.

“How are you feeling, darling?” Jasper asked, pulling my body tighter against his.

“You don’t have to ask, do you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your powers, they’re all back, aren’t they?”

“Yes, as far as I can tell.”

“But Jasper, the future is still all full of holes for me. I can see some things, others just aren’t there, and then there’s this static around some visions, like I can only see outlines or something… Maybe I’m broken, or it just won’t be the same for me…” My panic was rising, and my chest was tightening, but so were Jasper’s arms around me.

“Shh, baby,” he murmured, brushing the hair from my eyes. And I felt calmer, and I let go and let my body fall against his. I’d been letting him hold me like this ever since I came back from the sidhe. It was comforting, but it also made me feel so weak.

“Maybe it’s just the wolves. Or, god help us, maybe those faeries will be back at some point.”

“I don’t know… it’s not the same as that. The faeries seemed to pull a white sheet over my eyes. But this is just all disconnected...”

Jasper placed his fingers under my chin and tipped my face up so that I was staring into his large, butterscotch eyes. “Give yourself some time, Alice. Look at this as a break. The Volturi are gone for now. You and I need some time; some rest. To enjoy one another. We deserve peace.”

And, borne away in Jasper’s warm embrace, I felt peace.

“Maybe,” I murmured, cradling my head against Jasper’s chest. Then my doubt began to fade as well, as Jasper rubbed my back, and gently held the back of my head in his large hand.

“Sweetheart,” he purred. “It’s my turn to take care of you. Let me undress you, let me love you.” I dimly remembered the words I’d uttered to him back in Forks after the wedding.

And very gently, I felt Jasper’s hands deftly unbuttoning my shirt and slipping it from my shoulders, unclasping my little lace bra with a flick of his fingers. A flicker of excitement shot through my body, but the emotion was replaced by tender love almost as soon as it had registered.

“Do you know how happy you made me when you married me, Alice?”

His question caught me off guard. We didn’t often speak of our little civil ceremony. “Well, I was there. I could feel your happiness, so, I guess so.”

“No, sweetheart, I was too nervous to let you know how much...” Jasper fumbled with his words, something he hardly ever did. I could see flashes in my mind, and I tried to block them out. I wanted to hear these words from Jasper in the present.

“We were still so new. I was afraid it would frighten you, if you knew. You were already my mate, but something as human, as civil as matrimony, I never imagined I’d be so blessed…”

Again, Jasper paused, and then he took my hands in his and I could feel the overwhelming love passing back and forth between us like a completed circuit.

“When I look at my mate, and my wife before me… There is nothing else on this earth that compares to you. You are everything to me, Alice, and I will protect you forever. And I will love you, no matter what. No matter whether the future stretches out before your eyes like an unbroken road, or whether there are big potholes, or whether it’s black as pitch, like it is for the rest of us. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” I gulped as Jasper dropped my hands and tugged at the little skirt I’d thrown on earlier and pulled my lace panties away without giving them a second glance.

“Because right now it’s all about you, Alice.”

Jasper picked me up and cradled me in his arms before placing me gently in the deep bath. And as I floated in peace and contentment, I felt the soothing scratch of rough bristles across my shoulders, then dipping further down my back, and soft lips traced kisses along my neck.

“I need you, Jasper, please… take a bath with me?”

“But I won’t be able to help you as well, emotionally.”

“You help me, Jasper, no matter what. Just you.”

He didn’t need anymore prompting. Jasper was undressed and sitting behind me, wrapping his arms and legs around my body within a second. He had an old-fashioned bar of soap in his hands, and he didn’t leave any spot on my body unlathered, untouched, as he tenderly bathed me.

His hands ran over my scar again. “I am so profoundly sorry,” he whispered in my ear, his fingers running along the broken skin of my calf.

“I would have gone even if I knew,” I replied, replaying our conversation about Jasper’s scars from the night of the reception.

Jasper chuckled, and his breath tickled my neck. “Really, Alice? I find that hard to believe.”

I twisted around in the tub and playfully punched his chest. “That’s not funny, Jazz! Of course I would have gone!”

“But now you’ll have to wear stockings with your dresses,” he laughed. He may have been joking, but I could feel the slightest edge of disappointment in the air.

“Don’t worry, you pigheaded man… I can still wear garters. You have nothing to worry about.”

“You’ll wear garters every time you wear a dress?” he asked, eyebrows raised. Even with the bath dulling Jasper’s emotions, I could feel his desire rippling in the warm, sudsy water around us.

“Would you like me to?” I teased.

“Don’t you already know the answer, baby?”

I ran my hand down Jasper’s chest, over his tight abdomen, lower, until I found my answer. It was a resounding yes. I wrapped both my hands around him, and kissed him gently on the lips. “I believe I do.”

Jasper deepened the kiss and I wrapped my legs around his body, pressing his length between the two of us, letting the soap, the swishing, warm water and our slippery bodies do much of the work for me. Water splashed over the edge of the tub, and I saw the little mirror on the wall fog up completely.

“We’ve got less than an hour, Alice. Let’s not start something we can’t finish.”

“I trust that you can make it happen,” I purred.

“How come all our baths end with a race to the finish lately?”

“Take me back to Forks, Jasper. I promise a full day of lying in the bath: you, me and nothing else between us.”

“Well, I’d like it better if there were nothing between us right now, either,” Jasper growled, lifting me up in his arms, positioning me over him, teasing me at my entrance until I was gasping, and until I’d nearly forgotten what had upset me so much in the first place.

“Me too,” I whispered, feeling Jasper’s desire coursing under my skin where his hands held me.

*****

Afterwards, Jasper delicately lifted me from the lukewarm water, wrapped me in a thick towel, and took great care as he dried every inch of my body.

“You promise, Alice? I need a day with you in the bath. A whole day.”

“We’ll have to wait,” I replied, as I played through what I could see of the immediate future. Having a human share the third floor bathroom would definitely cut into our alone time there. Of course, in the past, Edward hardly ever used the facilities, giving Jasper and I free reign.

“Newlyweds,” I mumbled.

Jasper raised an eyebrow as he held my foot between his thighs, massaging it dry with the towel. “You don’t say,” he chuckled. “That’s going to take some getting used to… Edward... Good for him. Finally!”

I could feel Jasper’s relief at the idea of Edward finally feeling some… relief as well. But then, just as Jasper was going for my other foot, his hands froze.

“Wait, Alice. What happens in a week? Why do we get the bathroom back then? Is it Bella?”

That was a good question. I winced as I tried the use of my sight again, worried that I wouldn’t be able to see anything. I also worried that I’d end up seeing Bella writhing in pain. I knew she wanted to turn before her birthday, and a week from now seemed about the right timeframe. I sighed as I sorted through visions of the immediate future. If it was due to her transformation, it would definitely free up the bathroom, but it certainly wouldn’t make for good ambience.

But then I jumped to my feet and the towel that had been wrapped around me fell to the ground.

“Oh my god!”

I felt the emotions in the room go cold as Jasper steeled himself for another round of bad news. He wordlessly waited for me to explain myself, loathe to invite me to utter discouraging words.

“No, Jazz, it’s nothing like that. It’s not the Volturi or anything. It’s Bella and Edward. They’re going to college, Jasper! Bella wants to go to college for a semester.”

“I thought she wanted to turn by her birthday.”

“She did… but things changed while we were away.”

“What do you mean? What changed?” I watched the realization dawn on Jasper’s face, the mischievous twinkle in his eye. “So Edward finally found a way to convince her to stay human,” he laughed out loud. But then his face went cold again. “What about Emmett and Rose?”

I desperately tried to see to the end of the year, but there were holes and black spots and that static, and then the front door of the cottage opened.

“I’m back, you two!” Maggie called out. “Clothing time!”

“I don’t know, Jasper,” I whispered. I pushed my mind further, and caught a vision in the spring, of Bella running through the snow, her eyes a dusky, golden orange. But then the static took over again. “I see Bella as one of us in the springtime. She seems happy. That must mean something.”

Jasper attempted a weak smile. “We saved ourselves the fall, then. Let’s make sure we enjoy it.” I felt Jasper struggling to infuse the air with happiness as we hastily pulled on some clean clothes, and opened the bathroom door.

We helped Maggie put the little cottage in order. There really wasn’t much to do, and with three vampires at work sweeping and dusting and polishing, everything was shining in minutes. All the while though, I noticed Jasper sneaking looks at Maggie. Maggie, for her part, worked silently, and her mind was a mess of indecision. Her uncertainty, combined with my own shortcomings in the future-telling department, made it difficult for me to see what would happen next.

However, flight schedules weren’t as difficult to read as Maggie was. In a sudden flash I saw that Jasper and I could make a flight leaving this evening, and we could be back in Forks tomorrow. I was immediately ecstatic at the idea of being home, seeing my family, and lying with Jasper in a familiar bed.

“What is it, baby?” Jasper asked, as he watered some flowers on the sill.

“Maggie, I wanted to stay, to say good-bye to Siobhan and Liam, to make things right with them…”

“Stop yer’self right there, Alice. Don’t you worry about those two. I put it right. They trust what I ‘ave ta’ say, and I told ‘em straight out that you two were doin’ what was right for yer family. Siobhan and Liam love Carlisle like a brother, you know. And anytime he needs help, or his clan needs help, they’ll be there for ‘im. I’ll make sure of it. You can trust that, on my honor.”

“Maggie, thank you. You know that means so much to me… to us. We may call you on that. Kind of soon.”

“I figured as much, Alice. The Volturi don’t give up easily. At least that’s what I’m told. Eventually, I’ll face ‘em with you.”

“So we’re going, Alice?” Jasper asked. The small cottage suddenly filled with hope and homesickness.

I nodded my head and smiled as I jumped into Jasper’s arms.

“We have to leave soon to catch our plane. I think we might have to run.”

“Before you two go, I have something for you as well, Alice. Well, not for you, exactly. For your brother.”

In the span of a second, Maggie made up her mind, and I could finally see what she planned to do. I glanced at the front pocket of her apron and saw the small bulge there.

“Oh, Maggie, no! I’m sure Edward would still want you to have it.”

Maggie shook her head and looked at her toes. “But it’s not right. I looked at it all these years as somethin’ else entirely, as somethin’ to place hope in.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t want it returned, Maggie. You’re still friends, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I suppose, Alice. But I’ve got to get used to that idea. And keepin’ this isn’t goin’ ta help.” And in one fluid movement, Maggie retrieved the item from her pocket dropped the little golden necklace into my hand.

“I believe it was his mother’s, ya’ know.”

“I didn’t know. I try not to pry.”

I unwound the delicate chain to reveal a tiny golden cross.

“Aw, Maggie, you shouldn’t give it back. He’ll get the wrong idea,” Jasper added, walking over to the two of us.

“Then don’t you let ‘im, Jasper. He’s got a good heart, so pure. An’ he always heard my thoughts, so I think he’ll know what I’m doin’. Just makin’ a clean slate of it, and honorin’ his new wife. His mate.”

I quickly saw numerous scenarios play out in my mind, and I wasn’t so sure that returning Edward’s gift was the best thing for Edward’s mate. “Are you sure about this, Maggie? Returning this might not go over well.”

“I’m sure of it, Alice. I’ve got ta’ stop livin’ in the past, and go out an’ get a man of my own. I wish Edward an’ his mate well, I do. I don’t want any misunderstandin’ about that.”

“I get it. I just don’t know if Bella will. It might be hard on Bella, living with one hundred years of crushes.”

“At least that’s all it was. Edward always held to his convictions, as far as I know,” Maggie said with an assured nod of her head.

Jasper caught my hand, and I could feel regret coursing through my body from the point of his touch. I jumped and looked into the deep golden pools of his eyes. I brushed Jasper’s cheek with my hand.

“But when Bella’s finally a vampire she’ll understand,” I whispered. “No matter the past, there’s never been anyone but her, as far as he is concerned.” Jasper squeezed my hand, and I was awash in relief and love. Absolute love.

“I’ll remind Bella of that if you think it would help,” Jasper offered.

I glanced out the window, willing the future to unfold before my eyes. I saw the talk Jasper would have with Bella. My man was so sweet, so insightful. Bella needed that talk. And then, afterwards, the future started falling into place in my mind. “It will help, Jazz. Thanks.”

“My goodness, you two! You said you had to run. Now off with you! Give my regards to the rest of yer family, and for Siobhan and Liam as well.”

Jasper and I both gave Maggie quick hugs, and clasping Jasper’s hand, I turned toward the green and gray coast and ran off to embrace the peaceful autumn that we’d earned, as well as the uncertain future that awaited us after that.

A/N: Wow... we're almost done. I hope you've enjoyed this weird little journey with Jasper and Alice. It's not quite complete. There's still an epilogue coming. There were two necklaces in this past chapter, but did we get to THE necklace, yet? Well, I'm not telling. But, I guess if I'm still writing, then maybe we haven't.

Many, many thanks to Jess and Lindz for their help, and to my Polar Night and Newborn readers that have been waiting so patiently while I finished this, and to everyone that's read and left comments along the way for The Necklace.

Now, off to write the epilogue! xxx, m
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The Necklace